Johnson City, Tenn. (Apr. 12, 2002) -- The No. 74-ranked East Tennessee State men's tennis team defeated Southern Conference rival College of Charleston in a tight 4-3 match Friday afternoon from the Silcox Courts in Charleston, S.C.
The Bucs took the doubles point after sweeping all three matches. The ETSU team of junior Marcos Pavlovich (Otamendi, Argentina) and senior Roberto Fernandez (Cuernavaca, Mexico) defeated College of Charleston's tandem of Sagi Zakin and Thorben Kolk after an injury, 7-7 (ret.). Junior Pablo Sahagun (Cuernavaca, Mexico) and sophomore Alejandro Salazar (Arequipa, Mexico) of ETSU defeated Cougars Henrico du Plessis and Eyal Omid at No. 2 doubles, by an 8-5 score. ETSU sophomores Diego Iglesias (Mar del Plata, Argentina) and Moises Serrano (Bucaramanga, Colombia) won at No. 3 doubles by winning over COFC's Nicky Buys and Phillip Koller.
The singles matches were extremely competitive between the Buccaneers and Cougars. Iglesias picked up ETSU's first singles point, defeating Koller of the Cougars at no. 4 singles, 6-0, 6-4. At. No. 6 singles, Serrano won the second singles point for the Bucs, defeating College of Charleston's Bill Brehmer, 6-2, 6-2. The key match of the day was at No. 5 singles as ETSU's Salazar faced off against COFC's Buys.
Buys won the first set by a commanding 6-0 score, but Salazar came right back and took the second set by the same 6-0 margin. Salazar had claimed the momentum in the match and went on to take the third set, 6-3. That match win gave the Bucs a 4-0 lead in the dual match, clinching the victory.
The top three College of Charleston players played well, each defeating their Buccaneer counterparts and tightening the match score to a 4-3 final. ETSU's Fernandez fell to Charleston's du Plessis at No. 2 singles, 7-6, 6-4. At No. 3 singles, Omid of the Cougars toppled Sahagun of the Bucs, 7-6, 6-4. In the final match of the day, ETSU's Pavlovich fell to College of Charleston's Zakin at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4.
"This was a very tough match as we expected it to be," said ETSU head coach Dave Mullins following the match. "Winning the doubles point was big, as it gave us the momentum early. We knew that they were strong at 1,2 and 3 (singles), but with the big wins we had at 4,5 and 6, we had the match won before we got to 1,2 and 3. Everybody played well, and we were able to get it done today. We look to close out the season on a strong note Sunday at home against Chattanooga."
ETSU runs their record to 13-7, 8-1 in Southern Conference matches. College of Charleston falls to 12-7, 5-4 in SoCon matches.
The Buccaneers play their final match of the regular-season as they face off against in-state rival Chattanooga, Sunday at 1 p.m. from the ETSU Tennis Center in Johnson City, Tenn.
Singles matches:
No. 1: Sagi Zakin (CofC) def. Marcos Pavlovich (ETSU), 6-2, 6-7, 6-4
No. 2: Henrico du Plessis (CofC) def. Roberto Fernandez (ETSU), 7-6, 6-4
No. 3: Eyal Omid (CofC) def. Pablo Sahagun (ETSU), 7-6, 6-4
No. 4: Diego Iglesias (ETSU) def. Phillip Koller (CofC), 6-0, 6-4
No. 5: Alejandro Salazar (ETSU) def. Nicky Buys (CofC), 0-6, 6-0, 6-3
No. 6: Moises Serrano (ETSU) def. Bill Brehmer (CofC), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles matches:
No. 1: Pavlovich/Fernandez (ETSU) def. Zakin/Thorben Kolk (CofC), 7-7, ret.
No. 2: Sahagun/Salazar (ETSU) def. du Plessis/Omid(CofC), 9-8
No. 3: Iglesias/Serrano (ETSU) def. Buys/Koller (CofC), 8-1
Team records:
#74 East Tennessee State: 13-7, 8-1 Southern Conference
College of Charleston: 12-7, 5-4 SoCon